Tag: Ailee

With the big post of the week out the way, it is time to return to the usual programme of reviews. And there is a lot to cover this week. For this post, I will be looking at the long-awaited return of Ailee, who returned on Wednesday with Don’t Teach Me and her third studio-length album, Amy. This is Ailee first release since the pre-release single Make Up Your Mind from earlier on in the year, which is also featured on this album. This release also marks her first major release under THE L1VE, which is also home to Wheein (of Mamamoo).

Don’t Teach Me delves into the old swing genre with its brassy and old-style instrumental that just has this golden yet vintage glow. You will very much know that I enjoy brass elements, especially when it is used in upbeat applications. And so Don’t Teach Me ticks that box instantly. When the song hits the chorus, the instrumental makes me want to get up and dance. I had to refrain from doing so, or else there would be no review! What makes Don’t Teach Me even better is Ailee herself. It has been a while since we heard a powerful display of vocals from Ailee, and she just takes Don’t Teach Me to the next level. At the start of the song, Ailee’s vocals (paired with minimal piano) added suspense to the song and intrigued me into listening further to Don’t Teach Me. When we get to the choruses, Ailee really throws powerful vocals at us, as we get to the end of the segment. This naturally adds definition and oomph to the song that just takes the song to the next level. I think the song could have used some more interesting hooks. The ‘Please Don’t Teach Me‘ hook that follows the second and third choruses felt somewhat one-dimensional and didn’t really feel like it matched the rest of the song. It worked well, but I think Don’t Teach Me would have been a vastly better song with something bolder and punchy. But overall, Don’t Teach Me is a fantastic comeback from Ailee. It has been a while since we heard from her in this light and it was definitely satisfying to finally get something so.

Unfortunately, the music video didn’t fare as well as the song. While the setting, outfits (and damn, does Ailee look great throughout this video) and concept match the song and its lyrics wonderfully, I found the video to be dry. Essentially, the video is about Ailee making a statement to ‘all the boys who think they can control a woman’ and hence makes all the heads turn in her direction. I wished they did something more with all those people in that ballroom, that would have made the video a bit more interesting. However, there was one ballroom segment which I thought was pretty cool. At the start of the final chorus, Ailee’s vocals and energy broke a mirror and statue in time with the music. It was a clever and fun nod to both the message of the song/video and Ailee’s powerfulness.

The performance itself was quite good. There isn’t anything really special about the performance, but I liked that it was well-fitted to the song and had an element of fun to it as well. Ailee offset the lack of something special with her live vocals, which is still something to be in awe of.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 6.5/10
Performance – 7/10
Overall Rating – 7.9/10

We turn to a more recent release following my review yesterday for a 4 to 6 month old song (depending on what you would consider its release date). And this release is by Ailee, who makes her return to the KPOP scene through the title track Make Up Your Mind. Make Up Your Mind is featured on her pre-release mini-album, Lovin’, which marks her impending return with her third studio album in the near future. Lovin’ also features Spring Flowers as another lead track from the mini-album, but it doesn’t have an official music video and hence I won’t be reviewing it. Her last comeback was back in October of last year with the mini-album I’m and the title track When We Were In Love.

Make Up Your Mind is a pretty decent modern pop song with an instrumental that is quite airy but also textured. I guess this combination was intentional to keep the song interesting and substanced. Otherwise, I think the song would have been a bit too light and would be unforgettable. The main issue for me in regards to Make Up Your Mind is that it is a pretty repetitive on the instrumental front and doesn’t really delivery anything new or memorable by the time the song wraps up. If you heard the first verse and chorus, you have pretty much heard all of Make Up Your Mind. And after multiple listens, you are looking forward to a different song from the artist. I wished there was something more gripping or dynamic about the song. That way I would be more inclined to return to the song for further replays. On the flipside, I do appreciate that airiness and breezy nature, which is still a nice contrast to the texture we get through the synths as mentioned at the start. Per any of Ailee’s songs, her vocals are what is foremost and centre in the song. Ailee compliments that airiness and breezy nature of the song by opting for light vocals herself. While this is a great match, I do miss her more substantial releases that contains super powerful vocals. We know what Ailee is capable of based on her earlier singles. Make Up Your Mind doesn’t satisify that craving and I personally wanted more. To me, this songs fits neatly as a pre-release single and not as title track material. Let’s just hope that whatever follows Make Up Your Mind satsifies those cravings I mentioned earlier and provide us with something that is more driven.

The music video (or music v-log as the video has it in the title of the video) features both Ailee and Park Eun Seok (more recently known as Logan Lee from The Penthouse series). In the video, the pair acts as friends who have feelings for one another. They go on trips with one another and care for each other. But it seems like Ailee is waiting for Park Eun Seok to make the first move. And in the end, he doesn’t for whatever reason. This is why Ailee is singing lines such as “You take your time. Like a lover, show me how you feel to me now.” and “Tease is attractive. But” in this song. It makes sense. One thing I wished about the music video did better was that the story came together a lot more fluildly that what it did. They felt very disjointed and poorly sequenced in my opinion. Personally, I don’t have much to say about the couple scenes, but her solo shots during the pre-choruses gives off an snobby impression which I am personally not a fan of. I might be percieving the visuals wrong but that is what I got from the video unfortuately.

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 6/10
Overall Rating – 6.6/10

Ailee is nominated for Best Female Solo Artist in the 2019 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. To support Ailee and your other favourite artists, click here to vote before the 31st of December.

Earlier this year, Ailee made her long awaited comeback with Room Shaker. However, it was quickly forgotten due to lack of promotions and what was assumed to be conflict with her managing company. But since then, Ailee has signed with another company, making way for new releases in the future. She has also signed with an American company for future releases in the Western market. Her first release since signing on with different companies comes in the form of Sweater, a single released in both Korean and English.

Described as a Christmas ballad, Ailee draws our attention to Sweater in an effortless manner by appealing to our emotions through a beautiful and elegant sounding piece. Per usual, the ballad opts for a simple piano and violin instrumental, providing a very bare blank canvas for Ailee’s vocals to paint a picture on. And the image she manages to draw just sounds amazing. Her voice alone captivates and builds in a manner that makes the song as captivating as a dance track that builds perfectly into a dynamic piece. The only thing that changes between the two versions of the song are the language that the lyrics are in. I had expected there to be minute differences in the melody or overall audio aesthetics of the song (as often observed in Japanese version of Korean tracks and vice versa), but Ailee seems to have managed to polished both in a manner that these minute differences are well covered up or are non-existent.

Yes, you can feel the emotions when you listen to Ailee sing the song. But the music video just enhances the emotions you feel so that it is a lot more impact. Everyone we see in the music video has experienced loss. And from what I know, Christmas in Korea is more of a time to spend with your lover or friend, rather than family. So in this video, we see the first guy leave flowers by the intersection where his fiance was killed. The piano playing lady lost her husband and is counting down the days to his anniversary. The female student lost her mother, while the old man lost his wife. But each of these people have an item from their significant other. The guy has the two rings, the piano lady has a diary, the student has a key ring and old man has a notepad of his wife’s recipes. The saddest part is seeing them hold these items to themselves and watching them cry, as Ailee’s voice echoes in the background. In the end, we see them with their loved ones in a shop, showing the bond they had and still have during the Christmas period.

Song – 10/10
Music Video – 10/10
Overall Rating – 10/10

If you have only become a KPOP fan in the last year, chances are you haven’t heard of Ailee. Known for amazingly powerful vocals, Ailee has proven herself to be an artist to keep an eye out for. Tracks like I Will Show You, U&I, If You and many others are just solid proof of that. Today, she returned for the first time in 2 years with Room Shaker, the title track from her second studio album, Butterfly. This is her first comeback since her 2017 single (Reminiscing) and her very popular OST hit, I Will Go to You Like the First Snow.

I think the majority of her tracks that made her popular prior to 2017 either delved into the pop genre or were a ballad to showcase her vocals. But with a long absence from the music scene standing in her way, Ailee could only return with either a sound that makes people remember her more successful tracks or a sound that is completely different but extremely memorable. Room Shaker chooses the latter option, with Ailee redefining her usual sound. It focuses on a powerful hip–hop sound that does not hold back. I think one of the star attractions has to be the instrumentation. It is energetic and acts as a memorable hook, especially the brass-heavy post-chorus section. She raps in the track, which is something new from the solo artist if I am not mistaken. One of my favourite parts has to be the ‘Go Merry Go Round‘ whisper in the second verse. And while it is a hip-hop track, her vocals do manage to be another star attraction. Her high note brought back fond memories of her high notes from the past. Overall, I thought this was a successful return music-wise for Ailee, who definitely reminded me why I missed her.

With an edgy sound like in Room Shaker, you expect something equally as edgy in the video. Otherwise, the video would have completely missed the plot. However, Room Shaker hits the bullseye. It is definitely edgy and there is a lot of the attitude visually in this video, perfect for the track. And there is a literal shakeup in the classroom for this comeback, which goes hand-in-hand with both the lyrics (having a good time) and the title. Ailee looks amazing in the video as well, with all her close-ups leaving a stunning image of her in your mind.

And with an energy-filled song, the choreography is something to look out for. I really liked how the moves got her going low just for the first chorus. The second and final choruses didn’t have her repeating the same moves, as this will keep the first chorus looking impactful each time we see it. I think the moves during her post-chorus dance breaks were awesome and her back-up dancer seat lift was an awesome way to present the high note.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 8.5/10
Overall Rating – 8.6/10

[This review was written and scheduled a few months back in preparation for my absence in December. The standard posts for the end of the year (comebacks I have missed in November & December, the end of year charts + KPOPreviewed awards) will be written and posted after my return. No weekly charts will be uploaded for the last week of November and all of December.]

Ailee released If You as a pre-release single off her latest mini-album, A New Empire. This release occurred on the 23rd of August this year. This ended up being her first release since her comeback in 2015.

This ballad is. by far, one of the best ballads of the year. The song fits the Summer season (when it was initially released) perfectly. When it comes to the words Ballad and Summer are in the same sentence, this song’s instrumental is what you expect. Throw in Ailee’s vocal work and you have a pretty good song. It just lacks impact. All of Ailee’s songs (and even Ailee’s Home, which I deemed lacking as well) are hard-hitting. This just doesn’t reach that peak. But still, it is a pretty nice song to listen to. Actually, the combination of vocals and instrumental sounds like a happy tune from a gospel choir or like one of those beautiful sounding soulful songs. The way she opens each chorus was “If You~” sounds effortlessly amazing and it stays in my head every single time I hear the song. Her ad-libs towards the end were amazing as well.

The video features Nayoung from I.O.I. She plays the female in the video. Not sure who the male is. The video is a little confusing to understand, but you do get it in the end. Essentially, everything she sees is flashbacks of her past relationships. She has to leave them behind (i.e. enter a new door) to get over them. So the video is like her journey. In the end, she reaches her goal of getting past her old relationships (because clearly, she doesn’t want those memories to be repeated with her current boyfriend) and embraces her current boyfriend. The plot ties in nicely with the lyrics. Not really liking the acting in the video. Her face seems a little frozen. If her facial expressions were more expressive, I think I would have liked the video a little bit more. But overall, the video is nice to watch.

Rating – 9/10 

Ailee has recently made her solo comeback with Home. While Home is the first time we have seen her on stage for a while, she has been busy with a lot of other solo work. She has held concerts, special stages, collaborated on various projects and released a pre-release single a month ahead of her actual release of the mini album. (I have yet to review If You. It may be on my list ‘to review’). (Fun Fact) Home features Yoo Mi Rae, who Ailee had to beg to feature in this song.

Ailee has left me disappointed once again. Last time she was on stage with Mind Your Own Business, I described her song as good. Compared to her previous songs, that is quite disappointing. If You is a solid song and a greater refresher since she hasn’t released ballads of any kind of a while. Home just completely missed the target. The song is quite simple. A nice dubstep instrumental, Ailee’s amazing vocals and Yoo Mae Ri’s powerful rapping. But when I listen to them coming together, it just didn’t cut out for me. I felt the instrumental was overpowering, especially during the chorus. Her vocals didn’t seem to go that far this time around. However, when I pay attention to the instrumental separately, pay attention to her vocals separately, everything sounds fine. Odd review so far isn’t. Let’s move back to some praises to end on a much higher note. I love how she managed to infuse the RnB genre in with her EDM and dubstep. It sounds really cool and pretty refreshing. Her ad-libs in the song were amazing as well. Always can count on Ailee for amazing ad-libs.

Her visuals are stunning. I may have been disappointed with the song, but her looks in the video were spectacular. Her hair style is amazing and while I am a guy, she totally rocked everything she wore in the video. The music video gave off a nice mysterious vibe and I am a major sucker for the dark vibe. Especially when it is tied in with the idea of love. This video does that spot on. Her presence in the video is very strong and it leaves a long lasting impression on you, especially after you finish watching it, causing you to go back even more. Not too sure about the ending the video where she is casually just starts burning her home down and mashing everything. It just doesn’t go well with the lyrics, but amazingly well with the instrumental. I actually think the shaky shots fit in well with the song and the overall concept of the comeback. I personally like the video quite a bit.

The dance suits the song really well. Probably would not have imagined it any other way (besides a stage with no dance, just her singing and wowing us with that stage presence alone). That being said, the dance is quite limited. It seems like she and the backup dancers are confined into a tiny space, rather than ‘taking over the stage’.

Rating – 6/10

The song is pretty good, but it really does not have that Ailee feel to it. Yes, it is powerful. Yes, it has Ailee’s vocals. But it lacks something to take it to the next level. It sounds like a typical song that really does not stand out. All of her previous songs have that unique sound that makes it stand out, but this, it is lacking something. That something, I have no idea. Her vocals are superb as always and she has never failed us there. I enjoy how catchy the song is. That part right after the first part of the chorus has me rocking me head along to the beat. The instrumental was great. Fast paced, catchy and saxophones are always sexy. Hahaha… I still don’t know what is lacking. There is something missing that brings it up to the level of the past Ailee’s hits that we know of. To me, personally, this is her weakest song. It is powerful but compared to the rest of her other songs, it isn’t anywhere near.

The music video has me going wow. First of all, I hate characters who expect everything to be done for them. Ailee, if you want to trash his car, I think it would mean a whole lot more and it would be much more satisfying to trash it yourself. You didn’t have to do all of it, just if I were in your shoes, I would have a hella great time taking a hammer and smashing the windscreen. And you need some tips on hiding. Or maybe driving away, cause after all you are sitting behind a wheel of a car. Another thing, where did this injury come from? Cause damn, everything in this music video has her on two feet. I remember reading somewhere that she injured herself during filming (not sure if it was music video filming or something else). I love the hint of comedy in the video. Ailee kicks to the door to get it open, but then it was a pull type of door not a push type of door. Oh, we all have those days Ailee, don’t you worry. But I thought this was a cool video. It matched the lyrics and the power that the song had.

We don’t see Ailee dance that much in this music video and we don’t see her dance at all during the live performances. Such a pity. While it does look awkward with her sitting on a chair, she manages to bring that style and power that she always manages to bring to the stage. I do enjoy the air punches and all that fighting combat. But the start where the girls are standing in a line and touching the side of the other girls but, with sharp movements. It just doesn’t fit in with the rest of the dance.

Overall, it was a nice comeback. But I still don’t know what they missing thing is. Maybe I am overlooking everything and she has everything in the song. 7/10